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An example of such an enantiomer is the sedative thalidomide, which was sold in a number of countries around the world from 1957 until 1961. It was withdrawn from the market when it was found to cause birth defects. One enantiomer caused the desirable sedative effects, while the other, unavoidably [23] present in equal quantities, caused birth ...
One enantiomer of a drug may have a desired beneficial effect while the other may cause serious and undesired side effects, or sometimes even beneficial but entirely different effects. [1] The desired enantiomer is known as an eutomer while the undesired enantiomer is known as the distomer. [ 2 ]
The eutomer is the enantiomer having the desired pharmacological activity, [4] e.g., as an active ingredient in a drug. The distomer , on the other hand, is the enantiomer of the eutomer which may have undesired bioactivity or may be bio-inert.
In some cases, the less therapeutically active enantiomer can cause side effects. For example, ( S -naproxen is an analgesic but the ( R -isomer causes renal problems. [ 31 ] In such situations where one of the enantiomers of a racemic drug is active and the other partner has undesirable or toxic effect one may switch from racemate to a single ...
The drug was withdrawn from world market when it became evident that the use in pregnancy causes phocomelia (clinical conditions where babies are born with deformed hand and limbs). Later in late 1970s studies indicated that the (R)- enantiomer is an effective sedative, the (S)-enantiomer harbors teratogenic effect and causes fetal abnormalities.
If molecules have a greater affinity for the opposite enantiomer than for the same enantiomer, the substance forms a single crystalline phase in which the two enantiomers are present in an ordered 1:1 ratio in the elementary cell. Adding a small amount of one enantiomer to the racemic compound decreases the melting point.
The (R)-enantiomer has the desired sedative effect while the (S)-enantiomer harbors embryo-toxic and teratogenic effects. Attempting to extract solely R-thalidomide does not remove the risk of birth defects, as it was demonstrated that the "safe" R-thalidomide undergoes an in vivo chiral inversion to the "teratogenic" S-thalidomide.
It reflects the degree to which a sample contains one enantiomer in greater amounts than the other. A racemic mixture has an ee of 0%, while a single completely pure enantiomer has an ee of 100%. A sample with 70% of one enantiomer and 30% of the other has an ee of 40% (70% − 30%).